Suddenly in Thai

“Suddenly” in Thai is จู่ๆjùu-jùu; you'll also hear อยู่ดีๆyùu dii-dii (out of the blue) and กะทันหันgà-tan-hǎn (at short notice).

จู่ๆ jùu-jùu

suddenly, all of a sudden adverb everyday

jùu low
jùu low

Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.

อยู่ดีๆ yùu dii-dii

out of the blue, suddenly adverb

yùu low
dii mid
dii mid

Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.

กะทันหัน gà-tan-hǎn

sudden, at short notice adjective

gà low
tan mid
hǎn rising

Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”

You'll hear อยู่ดีๆyùu dii-dii in Pen Rai Mai? (เป็นไรไหม).

Examples

Tap any Thai word for its meaning.

จู่ๆjùu-jùu

จู่ๆ jùu-jùuไฟ faiก็ gâwดับ dàp

Suddenly the lights went out.
จู่ๆ jùu-jùuเขา kǎoก็ gâwร้องไห้ ráwng-hâai

All of a sudden she burst into tears.

อยู่ดีๆyùu dii-dii

อยู่ดีๆ yùu dii-diiรถ rótก็ gâwเสีย sǐa

Out of nowhere, the car broke down.
อยู่ดีๆ yùu dii-diiก็ gâwโกรธ gròot

He got angry for no reason.

กะทันหันgà-tan-hǎn

เที่ยวบิน tîaw-binยกเลิก yók-lôekกะทันหัน gà-tan-hǎn

The flight was cancelled at short notice.
ขอโทษ kǎw-tôotที่ tîiบอก bàwkกะทันหัน gà-tan-hǎnครับ kráp Men
ขอโทษ kǎw-tôotที่ tîiบอก bàwkกะทันหัน gà-tan-hǎnค่ะ kâ Women

Sorry for the short notice.

How to use it

จู่ๆjùu-jùu and อยู่ดีๆyùu dii-dii start a sentence about something nobody saw coming, and the verb after them takes ก็gâw: จู่ๆฝนก็ตกjùu-jùu fǒn gâw dtòk, suddenly it started to rain. อยู่ดีๆyùu dii-dii, "while all was fine", adds that there was no reason for it. กะทันหันgà-tan-hǎn goes after the verb: a change of plan, a hard brake, a trip at short notice. Stories write ทันใดนั้นtan-dai nán, suddenly. Don't mix up อยู่ดีๆyùu dii-dii with อยู่ดีyùu dii, still, anyway.